LOS ANGELES — One of the pressing questions remaining this season is simple: Will top prospect Nolan Arenado get called up?

After having his attitude questioned by general manager Dan O’Dowd a month ago, Arenado slumped offensively. Just 21, he has struggled with adversity, riding the roller coaster of emotions. But his ability remains elite. And of late, he’s caught fire offensively.

The third baseman has 10 hits in his last 14 at-bats, including five extra-base hits. He has raised his average to .277 with 40 extra-base hits and 45 RBIs in 110 games. Getting him some big league time in September, if he continues to perform, would provide him a platform to compete for a starting job next spring.

It’s not hard to imagine the Rockies’ starting infield on opening day featuring Troy Tulowitzki at shortstop, Josh Rutledge at second base and Arenado at third. First base is uncertain because of Todd Helton’s murky future. If Helton returns, he will likely enter spring as the starter, but the Rockies would have plenty of candidates for playing time, among them Michael Cuddyer, Tyler Colvin and Jordan Pacheco.

Around the minors, the Triple-A Sky Sox lost 6-1 despite a complete game from Rob Scahill. Outfielder Charlie Blackmon, who should definitely be promoted soon, is hitting .321 with 22 extra-base hits in 50 games.

The Rockies’ first-round draft choice David Dahl continues his successful pro debut. The outfielder, who has drawn comparisons to Andy Van Slyke, extended his hitting streak to 20 games with a sixth-inning single Tuesday. Dahl is batting .379 with 67 hits and a .426 on-base percentage in 43 games for short-season Grand Junction.

Wait, it’s not as bad as it sounds. Chacin actually made some progress in his road back to the Rockies, but former big-leaguer Kevin Kouzmanoff hit a grand slam off Chacin in the third inning of Northwest Arkansas’s 6-3 win over the Drillers.

Chacin threw 62 pitches (45 for strikes) and pitched four complete innings, giving up four runs on five hits while striking out two and walking two. He’ll make another rehab start at Double-A before moving on to Triple-A Colorado Springs.

Normally, when a pitcher gives up five earned runs in 2 1/3 innings, a grin doesn’t spread across a pitcher’s face. But in the case of rehabbing Rockies right-hander Jhoulys Chain, the grin seemed to fit.

Pitching for High-A Modesto in the first of four scheduled minor-league starts, Chacin threw without pain Sunday. Though he got hit hard — San Jose cranked out seven hits against him — Chacin attributed it to his emphasis on throwing almost all fastballs.

“I just tried to throw my fastball for strikes … almost all first-pitch fastballs,” Chacin told the Modesto Bee after the Nuts lost 8-3 to San Jose. “They just started to swing at that first pitch.”

Triple-A Colorado Springs had 13 hits, but lost 11-10 to Reno in 11 innings.

Starter Nick Schmidt struggled, allowing 12 hits and seven run in just four innings. Triple-A newcomer Chris Pettit had three hits, while Tommy Field, Charlie Blackmon and the rehabbing Wil Nieves each had two hits.

NW Arkansas 3, Tulsa 2
The offensive drought continued for the Double-A Drillers. Tulsa managed just seven hits, only two for extra bases.

The good news: Kent Matthes continues to tear it up. He belted his 17th homer, his fifth home run in his last eight games. The outfielder is hitting .387 in his last 10 games.

More good news: Parker Frazier pitched a splendid game. The right-hander gave up a two-run homer in the first ining, but then found his groove, retiring 17 of the last 18 batters he faced before being replaced in the eighth by Josh Sullivan.

After retiring the first two batters he faced, Sullivan gave up the game-winning home run to Yem Prades in the bottom of the eighth.

High Desert 6, Modesto 3
Thursday’s game was a so-so affair for High-A Modesto starter Tyler Matzek. He allowed two runs on eight hits, in five innings. He walked four and struck out three.

Shortstop Cristhian Adames was 2-for-44 with two RBIs to pace the Nuts’ offense.

Greenville 10, Asheville 3
Low-A Asheville starter Ben Alsup allowed five runs on four hits and walked four in 4 1/3 innings. His record feel to 11-5. Jared Simon had two hits for Asheville, including a two-run homer, while Trevor Story also had two hits. Story is now hitting .267.

The Asheville Tourists’ outfielder arrived at the plate in the eighth inning needing a triple to complete the cycle and put the finishing touch on a performance every ballplayer dreams about.

Simon blasted the ball off the center-field wall and could have strolled into the third base, but he chose to ease up at second base. Why, the Tourists were already leading Greenville 14-3 at the time and he didn’t want to rub it in. Seriously.

Asheville, by the way, cruised to a 16-3 victory, pounding out 22 hits, tying a season high with five home runs and clubbing a season-high seven doubles.

Reno 6, Colorado Springs 4
Because Edwar Cabrera was starting for the Rockies Tuesday night, recent free-agent acquisition Ricky Brooks was called on to start for the Sky Sox. It was, to say the least, a rocky start for Brooks. Reno reached him for five runs on nine hits in just 3 2/3 innings.

Shortstop Tommy Field went 3-for-5 with a triple. Catcher Wil Nieves, on a rehab assignment after his turf toe injury, had two hits.

Tulsa 6, Arkansas 2
Tyler Chatwood, the talented but erratic right-hander acquired from the Angels in a trade for catcher Chris Iannetta, had a solid outing for Double-A Tulsa. He allowed two runs on four hits over six innings. He struck out seven and walked only two as the Drillers beat Northwest Arkansas 6-2.

Outfielder Kent Matthes, his first-half slump behind him, blasted his 16th home run and finished the night 3-for-5. The homer was Matthes’ fifth in his last ten games and extended his current hitting streak to seven games. Even so, he’s hitting just .219 for the season.

Modesto 4, High Desert 2
High-A Modesto starter Juan Gonzalez picked up his fifth victory, allowing two runs on four hits over five innings.

Infielder Cristhian Adames ignited Modesto’s offense, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, and Delta Cleary Jr. came up big in the clutch, hitting a pair of two-out RBI singles. Kyle Parker has two hits, including his 11th home run.

Starter Alex White, who struggled so mightily during his short stint with the Rockies, pitched a terrific game as the Sky Sox beat Tacoma 9-1. White (2-4, 4.10 ERA) tossed seven shutout innings, allowing only four hits.

Third baseman Brendan Harris belted four hits, three of them doubles, and drove in five runs. Harris wielded an incredibly hot bat in the series, going 11-for-16.

FYI, the Sky Sox won all eight of their home games against Tacoma this season.

Tulsa 3, Arkansas 2
One swing of catcher Lars Davis’ bat instantly transformed what looked like another Drillers’ loss into one of their most dramatic wins of the season.

Double-A Tulsa snapped its four-game losing streak on Davis’ two-run, three-run homer in the top of the ninth. It was Davis’ fourth homer of the season.

Tulsa, offensively challenged all season, had been blanked on only four hits going into the ninth inning. In fact, before the three-run rally, Tulsa had been held to just 16 hits and three runs in the series.

Starter Dan Houston pitched well, giving up just one run on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out four.

Joe Gardner worked a scoreless ninth to preserve the victory. Gardner, making only the third relief appearance of his career, nabbed his first professional save.

There was some troubling news for the Drillers. In the top of the eighth, left fielder Corey Dickerson was struck in the helmet on a pitch from Ryan Chaffee. According to a report on the Drillers’ website, the ball appeared to deflect off Dickerson’s helmet and strike him in the face. After several minutes of treatment, he was escorted from the field by trainer Austin O’Shea with a towel covering his face. There was no immediate word on the outfielder’s condition following the game.

Greenville 5, Asheville 0
Single-A Asheville lost Monday despite an excellent start from Alex Gillingham. He tossed eight innings and allowed only unearned run on three hits.

Greenville broke out in the top of ninth inning against Jefri Hernandez, clubbing five hits and scoring four runs against the Tourists’ reliever.

Asheville managed just three hits in the game. The Tourists have now lost three straight and four of their last five.

Two hot hitters and a milestone for manager Stu Cole colored Triple-A Colorado Springs’ doubleheader sweep of Tacoma on Sunday.

The Sky Sox won the first game 9-6, then took the second game 3-2 on third baseman Brendan Harris’ walkoff, bases-loaded single in the eighth (it counted as an extra-inning game because of the two scheduled seven-inning games of the doubleheader).

With the two victories, Cole moved into second place for all-time wins by a Sky Sox manager with 225. Cole, in his fourth season with the Sox, passed former Sox manager Tom Runnels, the Rockies’ current bench coach and the man whom Cole replaced halfway through the 2009 season. Cole now trails only Sky Sox Hall of Famer Brad Mills, the last manager to win a PCL Championship for the Sky Sox, who totaled 271 regular-season wins and 276 total wins for the Sky Sox.

Lefty Jayson Aquino, who could be pitching for the rookie squad in Grand Junction soon, pitched another gem for the Rockies’ Dominican summer league team on Thursday. Though he didn’t get the victory, he pitched seven strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking outing eight.

For those who are curious, Aquino is listed at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds.

Tacoma 5, Colorado Springs 1
The Sky Sox opened their second half with a loss, handcuffed by Tacoma’s starter Blake Beavan (4-0, 2.61 ERA) who limited the Sox to just two hits in seven innings.

Colorado Springs’ only run came in the night on a two-out double by Chad Tracy.

Starter Guillermo Moscoso allowed three runs in six innings, but struck out seven.

Little Rock 7, Tulsa 5
Ben Paulsen hit a two-run homer in the first to get the Double-A Drillers off to good start, but the lead didn’t hold.

Josh Outman was charged with the loss for Tulsa, his first decision in five outings with the Drillers. He allowed six hits, two walks and five runs in four-plus innings.

Corey Dickerson went 3-4 and Paulsen totaled two hits, two RBIs and scored three runs.

The Drillers made several roster moves prior to Thursday’s game: Relief pitchers Coty Woods and Will Harris were promoted to Triple-A Colorado Springs, while relief pitcher Joe Torres rejoined the Drillers from the Sky Sox. Torres spent most of the 2011 season with Tulsa.

San Jose 4, Modesto 0
San Jose opened the game with four straight hits off High-A Modesto starter Leuris Gomez. Gomez (3-5) settled down after a rocky start, setting down 10 in a row at one point, and sticking around for six innings, allowing four earned runs.

Charleston 2, Asheville 1
Low-A Asheville has been an offensive powerhouse this season, but they managed just two hits Thursday, one from Trevor Storey, the other by Will Swanner.

Right-hander Daniel Winkler allowed just two runs in six innings but took the loss.

Jayson Aquino, the 19-year-old left-hander who’s putting up amazing numbers for the Rockies’ Dominican Summer League, will be promoted to the Grand Junction rookie league team sometime soon.

That’s the word I get from Rolando Fernandez, the Rockies’ senior director of international scouting.

“He’s a very talented kid, but we just want to make sure he’s really ready to come over to Grand Junction,” Fernandez said. “It can be a big transition for kids, coming from the Dominican to the states. For the good of the player, you have to have patience and make sure it’s the right time.”

Double-A Tulsa’s Parker Frazier has been the Drillers’ hard-luck starter. More often than not, he’s received little run support when he’s pitched well.

But Tuesday night it call came together in a 6-0 win over Corpas Christi. The right-hander threw seven innings while giving up just three hits. He walked one, struck out seven and retired the final 12 batters he faced.

Outfielder Kent Matthes is hitting just .199, but he had a big night, going 3-for-4 and clubbing his 10th and 11th homers.

First baseman Ben Paulsen (.261) had three hits, including a triple, drove in a run and scored twice.

Start with Double-A Tulsa where Drillers’ right-hander Joe Gardner (3-6, 5.36), who allowed nine runs on seven hits in two-plus innings as Tulsa fell 16-2 to Corpus Christi. The 16 runs were the most given up by Drillers pitchers this season, as were the 18 hits they allowed. Corpus Christi hit five home runs, including a three-run blast off Gardner in the first.

Josh Rutledge, certainly a candidate to get called up by the Rockies in the second half, went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.

Colorado Rockies first selection in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, Tyler Matzek gets a close-up look at the team's home of Coors Field on Friday, Aug. 21, 2009, before the Rockies host the San Francisco Giants in a baseball game.

Tyler Matzek, the Rockies’ first-round pick in 2009, continues to battle wildness. He walked five in 4 1/3 innings Wednesday as High-A Modesto lost 8-2 to San Jose.

Matzek allowed five runs (four earned) in his short stint. He needed 102 pitches, and 48 of them were out of the zone.

Well-traveled starter Brandon Hynick, at one time a bright prospect in the Rockies’ organization, continued on his comeback road Tuesday.

Pitching in the Texas League for the first time in four years, the right-hander led Double-A Tulsa to a 5-1 victory over Corpus Christi, throwing eight superb innings. Hynick allowed only four hits and one run, striking out two and walking none. Of his 84 pitches, 55 were thrown for strikes, and he induced 14 groundball outs.

Edwar Cabrera’s big league debut didn’t go the way he expected, hammered by the Washington Nationals. But he’s determined to earn another opportunity. He took a huge step forward Monday night, striking out 13 in his Triple-A debut. The Sky Sox won 5-3 over Sacramento, which featured former Rockies’ prospect Bruce Billings on the mound.

Cabrera allowed just one earned run in 6 2/3 innings, throwing 114 pitches, including 64 strikes. The Sky Sox staff finished with 17 strikeouts. Cabrera jumped straight from Double-A to the majors last week. His sinking fastball didn’t move like he had hoped. But he has potential given his mental toughness and a plus-changeup.

Outfielder Tim Wheeler, who is batting .303, hit his first home run in Triple-A and Chad Tracy added his fifth.

In Double-A, Tulsa lost 5-4 to Corpus Christi. Josh Rutledge lifted his average to .302 with two hits. He’s still a candidate to appear in the big leagues at some point this season. He can play shortstop and second base.

The Modesto Nuts lost 8-7 to Lancaster. Center fielder Rafael Ortega collected three hits. He’s batting .292. In their 18-inning game on June 23, which featured position player Jared Clark pitching, Modesto won and helped get Stockton Ports manager Todd Steverson suspended for a year. Steverson, Oakland’s roving hitting instructor, was filling in for the vacationing manager. The California League banned him for a year after he admitted in postgame interviews that he told position players who pitched for him in the game to intentionally balk to help Modesto win. He was interested in protecting them from injury. The California League apparently didn’t share his view.

Reality has intervened, bringing sobering perspective in the Rockies’ minor leagues the last few days. Triple-A Colorado Springs postponed Tuesday’s game because of the Waldo Canyon Fire that has raged near Air Force Academy south of Denver, causing evacuations and fear.

DJ LeMahieu was one of the Sky Sox players who posted pictures on Twitter of just how frightening and close the fire was yesterday afternoon.

There was sadness and concern in Class-A ball as well. Former Rockies minor league pitcher Paul Bargas, who was drafted in the 13th round of the 2009 draft out of UC-Riverside, passed away last night after a battle with brain cancer. He was 23 years old. Here’s a story from Tri City remembering Bargas.

Lefty Drew Pomeranz, the Rockies’ top pitching prospect, isn’t just knocking on the big-league door, he’s banging on it, determined that the Rockies open it — soon.

Pomeranz pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing just one run, for Triple-A Colorado Springs Sunday as the Sky Sox beat Tacoma 5-1. Pomeranz allowed seven hits and struck out four. He did walk four, but his overall outing was solid.

Pomeranz, who pitched six scoreless innings in his last start, has given up one earned run or less in six
of his nine starts with Colorado Springs.

“I almost felt too good today,” Pomeranz told the Colorado Springs Gazette. “I felt like crap last time, pitched real well, and then I felt real good and was a little too amped up out there today. Good location with my fastball, good location with my breaking ball at times. I’m fairly happy with it.”

Asked if he’s thought about his impending call-up to the Rockies, Pomeranz told the Gazette: “I have thought about it, but there’s nothing I can do about it at the end of the day. Just got to keep going out there and throwing the ball, and it will happen when it happens I guess.”

First baseman Chad Tracy had two hits, giving him at least two hits for the sixth time in the last seven games. Second baseman DJ LeMahieu went 2-for-4 in his first appearance since being sent down by the Rockies.

Springfield 5, Tulsa 3
Double-A Tulsa starter Dan Houston cruised through five scoreless innings, but came off the rails in the sixth when Springfield scored five runs.

Houston gave up five runs on nine hits, including a homer. His record fell to 7-6 and his ERA rose to 3.38.

Left Fielder Corey Dickerson went 2-for-4 with a double.

Modesto 5, Stockton 3
High-A Modesto closer Adam Jorgenson wriggled out of a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning to save a 5-3 win for the Nuts and complete a four-game sweep over Stockton.

Nuts starter Tyler Matzek (5-3, 3.31) pitched 6 2/3 innings for the win. The lefty gave up three runs on five hits, striking out seven, walking three.

Third baseman Jayson Langfels drove in two runs for Modesto.

Asheville 4, Rome 1
Right-hander Chris Jensen, the Rockies’ sixth-round pick in the 2011 draft, pitched an exceptional game for the Class-A Tourists. Jensen allowed one run on seven hits, struck out eight and walked one over eight innings.

Patrick, a third-generation Colorado native, is back for his second stint covering the Rockies. He first covered the team from 2005-2009, helping chronicle “Rocktober” in 2007 and also following the team’s playoff run in 2009.

Nick Groke has worked at The Denver Post since 1997, as a sports reporter, city reporter, entertainment writer and digital editor and producer, among other newsroom posts. He also writes regularly about boxing, soccer, MMA and NASCAR.